Therapeutic Riding
by JennyGranger
Summary: This story is inspired by Damaged Goods/The Choices We Make by dib07, and may not make much sense unless you've read those stories first. This is a little deleted scene that I thought of and was convinced to write and eventually post by dib07 themselves :P Several months after Yami's ordeal at the hospital, they finally find a form of physical therapy he enjoys.


So I came to this idea while reading Damaged Goods and the sequel, The Choices We Make, by dib07, which you may want to read first as this story probably won't make much sense without. As I am very much into horses and riding, and even took a class on therapeutic riding, I do have experience in the field. Also, I am sore from riding for the first time in almost two years, so I didn't want to move and just decided to sit here and write. The horse in this story is named after a horse that I unfortunately had to sell last year due to lack of time and not being able to afford her anymore, even though she definitely did not have the personality for a therapy horse xD

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"Does this feel all right, Mou Hitori no Boku?" Yugi asked gently, helping Yami get a helmet over his hair. It was harder than it seemed, and, much to Yami's chagrin, they needed to implement a hair tie to keep it down enough for the helmet to fit properly

Yami just made a little noise of agreement as he lifted his chin so the strap could be buckled. Truth be told, he was more comfortable with this idea than the whole swimming ordeal, but Yugi could still sense the nervousness coming from his partner as he glanced around the building they were in. It was a barn specializing in using horseback riding and other activities for therapeutic purposes. The hope was it would help Yami not only gain some more strength back, but it could be wonderful for his mental and emotional health as well.

"Are you boys ready?" Solomon asked, walking back over from where he had been talking with a young woman, maybe in her late twenties. Yugi glanced up at Yami, who gave a small nod and the two of them followed their grandfather over to where the woman was.

"Yami?" she asked, smiling gently, turning towards the open stall she was standing by, "Meet Peanut."

Yami glanced into the stall to see a quite beautiful sorrel mare that was tied up and watching them patiently. She was already saddled up for him with a large Western saddle that looked quite sturdy and supportive, and was quite the contrast between the vague memories he had of riding bareback around his village in Egypt.

"Don't be shy. Go on and say hello," the instructor said gently, opening the stall door just a little more so Yami could walk in. He looked down at Yugi, who gave an encouraging nod, before he stepped into the stall, his feet sinking slightly into the shavings that made up the bottom.

Peanut watched him closely, but kindly, as he approached slowly, his hand outstretched so he could gently lay run his fingers over the clean, soft fur on her neck. As he patted her, he relaxed a bit and a soft smile appeared on his face. It was all the clue the others needed to move forward and the instructor also stepped into the stall, bridle in hand.

"Let's get her bridle on and go out into the arena, shall we?" she said. Yami stepped out of the way so she could take off Peanut's halter and slip the bridle over her head, only to hand him the reins, "Do you know how to lead a horse, Yami?"

Yami nodded, not helping but glance over at Yugi and Grandpa, who were smiling at him from outside the stall. The instructor stepped out in front of him, making sure the stall door was open completely so Yami could lead the horse out with no obstructions. He followed her out into the aisle and down to a huge arena. Yami couldn't help but feel a tad intimidated, being the only one in such a giant room, but he forced himself to focus on the instructor, since Yugi and Solomon had to stay outside the gate, for safety reasons.

Stopping Peanut in the middle of the expansive space, Yami waited for the instructor to bring over a small mounting block, setting it on the left side of the horse.

"Alright, just flip the reins over her head and I'll hold her while you mount up."

Doing as told, Yami lifted the reins over Peanut's ears so they rested in the proper position on her neck. The instructor grabbed onto her near rein and held her in place so Yami wouldn't have to worry about holding onto them as he mounted. Stepping onto the mounting block, he reached up and grabbed the horn and cantle of the saddle and placed his left foot in the stirrup. Taking a deep breath, he hoisted himself up with a quiet grunt but managed to get himself settled into the saddle quite easily.

"You've done this before, haven't you?" the instructor praised, going over to make sure both stirrups were the proper length for him.

"A bit," Yami said, watching her carefully as she adjusted the stirrups for him. However, that only took a minute and they were ready to go.

"Ready?" she asked, waiting for Yami to give her a small nod, before she gently took his hands, "All right. So just hold the reins just like this and pull out just like this when you want her to turn," she explained, showing him exactly what she meant with his hands, "We're just going to be walking today and doing a few simple exercises."

She waited until Yami nodded to take a step back and give him room to maneuver Peanut around. At first, he just walked around her in a wide circle to help him get used to the movement before she had him start doing exercises, centered around helping him gain strength and muscle tone. Even though it had been a good six months since him being in the hospital, as it was now in the summer months, he was still thinner and lankier than he should be.

Thirty minutes later, they decided to call it quits as it was obvious Yami was tiring, since riding uses muscles not usually used otherwise. He was a bit sore and his breathing was growing heavy. Even so, Yugi could tell he had enjoyed himself. He could see in the way that Yami ran his fingers softly over Peanut's neck as he waited for the instructor to bring over the mounting block to help him down.

He lowered himself off the horse slowly, making sure his feet were steady on the block before letting go of the saddle completely. Stepping down, his legs shook a bit, but he took the reins without hesitance and followed the instructor out of the arena and back to Peanut's stall. Once her bridle was off and she was tied back up, they removed her saddle and took it back to the tack room, and brought back a couple of horse treats.

"Go ahead and give her these," the instructor gave them to Yami, "Just make sure to keep your hand flat, just like this, or else she may mistake your fingers for food."

Yami nodded and stepped back into the stall. While he was busy with that, she turned to speak with Solomon about a possible lesson plan for the next few weeks to help maximize the benefits. Meanwhile, Yugi stepped into the stall, glad to see the smile that had appeared on Yami's face as he fed Peanut her treats.

"Did you have fun today?" he asked.

Though it was obvious Yami was tired, he turned to Yugi and his smile only grew.

"I did," he said, "Though it was different, it reminded me of my days in Egypt. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed riding."

"That's good to hear," Yugi said, "It'll really help you, in the long run, to build up your strength again."

"Boys?" Solomon asked, poking his head back into the stall, "It's time for us to get going. Yami needs to put his helmet up and then we need to head back home."

"All right, grandpa," Yugi said, grabbing Yami's hand and leading him out of the stall, where they removed his helmet and the little hair tie used to help keep his hair down.

Yugi couldn't help but laugh a bit when the spikes sprung back upright, though in a slightly lopsided way. However, he merely ran his hand through Yami's hair a few times to straighten it back out, earning a tired smile from him.

Five minutes later, and they were sitting in the car, pulling out of the parking lot of the stables for the half hour ride home. Yugi grinned when he saw Yami's eyelids starting to droop already. No doubt he would sleep most of the way home. As a result, the ride home was quiet, but they were content with that.

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So... yeah. I was really unsure of how to end this. Feel free to review, I guess.


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